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☆ Sudan fighters take over Khartoum museum, director says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

KHARTOUM, June 3 (Reuters) - Sudanese paramilitary fighters have taken over the national museum in Khartoum, its deputy director said on Saturday, urging them to protect precious artefacts from the nation's heritage that include ancient mummies. Members of the Rapid Support Forces group that has been fighting the army since mid-April for control of Sudan entered the museum on Friday, said deputy director Ikhlas Abdellatif. Museum staff do not know the situation inside the museum because they halted work there after the conflict suddenly erupted on April 15, forcing police guarding the facility to quit, Abdellatif said. The RSF released a video filmed inside the museum grounds showing a soldier denying that they had done any harm to the museum or would do so, and inviting any individuals or organisations to visit the museum to check. The video also showed RSF fighters covering up exposed mummies with sheets and closing the plain white boxes in which they were contained.

Persons: Ikhlas Abdellatif, Abdellatif, Hatim Alnour, Roxanne Trioux, Omar al, Bashir, Abdel, Fattah, Burhan, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Hemedti, Sami, Khalid Abdelaziz, Adam Makary, Angus McDowall, Giles Elgood, Frances Kerry Organizations: Sudanese, Rapid Support Forces, Museum, . Security, Thomson Locations: KHARTOUM, Khartoum, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, United States, Omdurman, Bahri, Washington, Riyadh, U.S, Dubai, Cairo

☆ Greek police find 3.2 million euros of cocaine in banana containers
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ATHENS, June 3 (Reuters) - Police in northern Greece have seized dozens of packages of cocaine stashed in containers laden with bananas that had been shipped from Latin America, they said on Saturday. Police seized two suspect containers at the port of Piraeus and, after taking them to the port of Thessaloniki, found 100 "bricks" of concealed cocaine, weighing 161 kilos. The drugs, which would have been distributed across Greece and other European countries, are estimated to be worth about 3.2 million euros, police said. The consignment was found as part of an investigation Greece launched last month with North Macedonia authorities and the U.S. anti-drug agency, following the seizure of about 100 kilos of cocaine also hidden in banana containers at a warehouse in Thessaloniki. (This story has been refiled to fix a typographical error in the headline)Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Giles ElgoodOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Angeliki Koutantou, Giles Elgood Organizations: Police, Saturday . Police, U.S, Thomson Locations: ATHENS, Greece, Latin America, Piraeus, Thessaloniki, Macedonia

[1/2] An ambulance and firefighting vehicles are parked outside a multi-storey apartment block following a reported drone attack in Moscow, Russia, May 30, 2023. Drone attacks deep inside Russia have intensified in recent weeks, with strikes on oil pipeline installations and even the Kremlin earlier this month that Moscow has blamed on Ukraine. Some filmed a drone being shot down and a plume of smoke rising over the Moscow skyline. MOSCOW UNDER ATTACKIt was unclear how President Vladimir Putin will react to the attack on Moscow, which brings the war in Ukraine to the capital of the world's biggest nuclear power. Andrei Vorobyov, governor of the Moscow region, said on the Telegram channel that several drones were shot down on their approach to Moscow.

☆ EU, US concerned about Polish law that could ban people from public office
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BRUSSELS/WARSAW, May 30 (Reuters) - The European Commission and U.S. State Department have expressed concern about a new Polish law they say could effectively ban individuals deemed to have acted under Russian influence from holding public office without providing proper judicial review. The law, which Poland's president on Monday said he would sign into law, was developed by the eurosceptic and nationalist ruling PiS party ahead of parliamentary elections due in October or November. Poland's foreign ministry rejected the criticism, saying the law provided for "due process in a fair procedure". "We have a special concern now about the situation in Poland with the creation by law of a special committee able to deprive citizens, individuals, from their right to be elected to public office," EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders said. Any party subject to the commission's decision will have the right to appeal in an administrative court, the ministry said.

☆ Factbox: Global firms in Uganda face LGBTQ conundrum
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 29 (Reuters) - Uganda's tough new anti-LGBTQ law, which stipulates the death penalty for "serial offenders", presents a conundrum for multi-nationals wanting to grow in Africa while promoting diversity and inclusion. Here are some global firms that have substantial operations in Uganda and their strategies for LGBTQ inclusion. GOOGLEGoogle, owned by Alphabet (GOOGL.O), launched its first wi-fi network in Uganda in 2015 in the capital, Kampala. On its website, the company says "supporting LGBTQ+ communities has been a priority from the earliest days of Google." EYEY offers services in Uganda including tax and advisory.

[1/4] Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez appears after he casts his vote at a polling station during Regional elections, in Madrid, Spain, May 28, 2023. he said in a televised speech that took even some of his political allies by surprise. "...I believe it is necessary to respond and submit our democratic mandate to the will of the people." But it is highly unusual for a Spanish government to call a snap ballot after a poor performance in a regional vote. The PP potentially took as many as eight regional governments from the Socialists, depending on how successful the opposition party is in negotiating alliances with Vox.

VILNIUS, May 29 (Reuters) - Latvians woke up to go to work on Monday morning, only to find they didn't have to. Their parliament had met at midnight to declare a holiday after the national ice hockey team chalked up its best-ever result at the world championship. Latvia, where hockey is the national sport, was co-hosting the men's championship with Finland, and the Latvians' extra-time victory over the U.S. for third place was greeted with wild jubilation. At quarter to midnight on Sunday, sporting red and white national team jerseys, members of parliament convened for a ten-minute session to unanimously declare the holiday. The bill was introduced by a smiling member of parliament with her face painted in the colours of the national flag.

☆ Libya court sentences 23 to death for Islamic State campaign
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MISRATA, Libya, May 29 (Reuters) - A Libyan court sentenced 23 people to death and another 14 to life in prison on Monday for their role in a deadly Islamic State militant campaign that included beheading a group of Egyptian Christians and seizing the city of Sirte in 2015. [1/4] Suspects sit behind bars during a judgment sentence against 56 defendants accused of joining Islamic State group (ISIS) in the court in Misrata, Libya, May 29, 2023. "My son is missing and my relative, my brother-in-law, was murdered in Sirte Square," he said. Speaking in court on Monday, Fawzia Arhuma said she welcomed the death sentences after her son was killed by the group at a power station near Sirte. Reporting by Ayman al-Sahily, writing by Angus McDowall, editing by Andrew Heavens and Giles ElgoodOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Putin congratulates 'dear friend' Erdogan for winning Turkish election
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, May 28 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated his "dear friend" Tayyip Erdogan who claimed victory in Turkey's presidential election on Sunday, saying the win was evidence the Turkish people appreciated Erdogan's independent foreign policy. "The election victory was a natural result of your selfless work as the head of the Republic of Turkey, clear evidence of the support of the Turkish people for your efforts to strengthen state sovereignty and conduct an independent foreign policy," Putin said in a message to Erdogan, according to the Kremlin. "We highly appreciate your personal contribution to the strengthening of friendly Russian-Turkish relations and mutually beneficial cooperation in various areas," Putin said. Putin said he attached great importance to joint projects such as Turkey's Akkuyu nuclear power plant, which is being built by Russia's state energy group Rosatom, and a gas hub which Putin has proposed in Turkey. Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Giles ElgoodOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Pro-government rally in Moldovan capital draws tens of thousands
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Alexander Tanas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] People wave flags of European Union and Moldova during a rally to support the European path of the country, in Chisinau, Moldova May 21, 2023. President Maia Sandu has accused Russia of seeking to sabotage its European integration by fuelling anti-government protests and propaganda. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, on a visit to Chisinau, also addressed the rally, saying Europe would welcome Moldova "with open arms and open hearts". "This is about the both of us: You will bring a piece of Moldova to Europe, and you will make Europe stronger," she said. "I believe in a European Moldova and want for my country a future with advanced economic and socio-political development," said 18-year-old attendee Alexandrina Miron.

☆ 'May December' director: women pay higher price than men for breaking rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Mindy Burrows | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] The 76th Cannes Film Festival - Press conference for the film "May December" in competition - Cannes, France, May 21, 2023. Director Todd Haynes and cast member Natalie Portman attend. REUTERS/Eric... Read moreCANNES, May 21 (Reuters) - Todd Haynes' new romantic drama "May December" shines a critical spotlight on the way women who break society's rules are held to much stricter standards than badly behaving men. Haynes told Reuters on Sunday. "There are incredibly problematic aspects to how this relationship began, which this film works toward a confrontation of toward the end," Haynes told journalists.

☆ Russia's Wagner claims Bakhmut; Kyiv says situation critical
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

But meanwhile, to the north and south, they have made their most rapid gains for six months in the surrounding area, seizing swathes of territory from Russian troops. "Wagner troops climbed into Bakhmut like rats into a mousetrap," Oleksander Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine's ground forces, told troops at the Bakhmut front this week. The battle for Bakhmut has revealed a deepening split between Wagner, a mercenary force that has recruited thousands of convicts from Russian prisons, and the regular Russian military. For two weeks, Prigozhin has been issuing daily video and audio messages denouncing Russia's military leadership, often in expletive-laden rants. Moscow has long claimed that capturing Bakhmut would be a stepping stone towards advancing deeper into the Donbas region it claims to have annexed from Ukraine.

☆ UN official criticised after meeting Russian sought by ICC
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Rights groups and the top U.S. official for global justice denounced the meeting. As a senior official, Gamba should avoid contact with persons subject to ICC warrants and that "Lvova-Belova belongs only in one place – in the dock at the ICC," Jarrah said. Ambassador for Global Justice Beth van Schaack, said on social media Friday night that such a meeting would be "deeply concerning." The United States, Britain, Albania and Malta walked out on her address. Britain and the United States had also blocked the meeting from being webcast.

☆ Meloni to leave G7 a day early to tackle Italy flood crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni attend a meeting during the G7 leaders' summit in Hiroshima, Japan May 20, 2023 Ukrainian Presidential Press... Read moreHIROSHIMA/ROME, May 20 (Reuters) - Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is set to leave the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Hiroshima a day earlier than scheduled to lead the response to flooding which hit the north of her country this week, two sources said on Saturday. Torrential rains devastated the eastern side of the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, killing 14 people, causing billions of euros worth of damage and hitting agriculture particularly hard. Italy's government will hold a cabinet meeting on Tuesday to decide on measures to help people to cope with the emergency. Earlier in the day, Meloni thanked the G7 leaders and everyone from other countries who had expressed solidarity with Italy and those affected by the flooding. Reporting by Katya Golubkova and Angelo Amante, writing by Gianluca Semeraro, editing by Gavin Jones and Giles ElgoodOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Outreach to the so-called "Global South", shorthand for some low- and middle-income countries including India, has been a focus at this year's Group of Seven (G7) summit in Hiroshima. Some of China's lending has left developing countries "trapped in debt", U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said. China, which has lent hundreds of billions of dollars to build infrastructure in developing countries, has called those remarks "irresponsible" and said the United States should take practical action to help developing countries. Japan and Germany have for years been pushing for a reform of the Security Council. The initiative comes as Japan and other G7 members try to engage the Global South, as the G7 nations struggle to stay relevant amid growing Chinese influence in developing countries.

☆ A female orca traumatized by a previous encounter with humans may be behind mounting killer whale attacks on boats, scientists say
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A traumatized female orca could be behind the increased killer whale attacks on boats. A traumatic event may have triggered a change in White Gladis' behavior, experts told LiveScience. While most orca interactions with boats are harmless, there has been a spike in aggressive behavior towards boats since 2020, biologist Alfredo López Fernandez told LiveScience. Janet Morris and Stephen Bidwell were on an already-bumpy ride when the crew spotted the killer whales on May 2 in the Strait of Gibraltar. as a pod of killer whales began banging into their 46-foot boat, per The Times.

FollowNEW YORK, May 18 (Reuters) - Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX is seeking to claw back more than $240 million it paid for stock trading platform Embed, saying former FTX insiders did no investigation before buying the essentially worthless bug-ridden software platform. FTX filed three lawsuits late Wednesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware targeting former FTX insiders including indicted founder Sam Bankman-Fried, Embed executives including founder Michael Giles, and Embed shareholders. FTX alleged that Bankman-Fried and other FTX insiders misappropriated company funds to acquire stakes in Embed as part of the transaction. As part of the purchase, FTX also paid Embed employees $70 million in retention bonuses. FTX is seeking to recover $236.8 million from Giles and Embed insiders, and $6.9 million from Embed minority shareholders.

☆ English island that inspired Agatha Christie is up for sale, along with its luxury Art Deco hotel
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Lianne Kolirin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

London CNN —A tiny island that inspired legendary crime novelist Agatha Christie has gone up for sale, complete with its own Art Deco hotel and helipad. Burgh Island, located just off the coast of Britain’s south-westerly county of Devon, is on the market for “offers in excess of £15m” ($18.9 million), according to real estate agent Knight Frank. Each room at the hotel is named after a notable guest, including "Agatha's beach house." Burgh Island HotelOver the years, Burgh has been a popular escape for the rich and famous. In 1927, it was sold to film producer Archibald Nettlefold, who went on to build a more substantial hotel in the Art Deco style fashionable at the time.

☆ Eurovision: The coronation may have passed off peacefully. But song contest could be a bigger headache
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

London CNN —Britain’s security services are quietly relieved that the coronation of King Charles III passed without major incident – save for some accusations of heavy-handed policing. On the face of it, the stakes associated with the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest would not appear to be particularly high. For that reason, British security officials are more exercised than they might otherwise have been about a kitschy musical competition. “On one hand you have thousands of people enjoying the nightlife, which means potential of physical targets and organized crime. This year’s event is, at its heart, a partnership between the UK and Ukraine, two major thorns in the Kremlin’s side.

☆ Ukraine has 'conflicting priorities,' says analyst
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailUkraine has 'conflicting priorities,' says analystKeir Giles, senior consulting fellow for the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House, discusses tensions as Russia holds a military parade, while simultaneously launching attacks on Kyiv and Odessa.

The blue-chip index (.FTSE) and the mid-cap FTSE 250 index (.FTMC) rose 0.3% each, as of 0830 GMT. Oil and gas sector (.FTNMX601010) jumped 1.7%, with firm crude prices and a weaker dollar supporting gains. The U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank hiked interest rates by 25 basis points (bps) earlier this week. Though the ECB signalled more hikes were to come, the Fed indicated a potential pause in its monetary tightening. "As long as inflation doesn't move higher, it looks like the Fed has done enough in the near term."

☆ A student-loan company at the center of a lawsuit blocking Biden's debt cancellation with a 'dubious record of customer service' just got a new contract to keep servicing millions of borrowers, Cori B
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Education Department awarded five student-loan companies new contracts, including MOHELA. "No company should be profiting from the student debt crisis, especially MOHELA with their dubious record of customer service in the past," she continued. "My office will continue our work to hold student loan servicers accountable for their harm to our communities. Ultimately, there is still much work to be done to provide student debt relief, bolster college affordability, and begin the transition to a world without student debt at all." As Bush referenced, MOHELA is responsible for the whole PSLF portfolio, which forgives student debt for government and nonprofit workers after ten years of qualifying payments.

☆ Japanese yen to move sharply higher if BOJ abandons ultra-loose monetary policy, strategist says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailJapanese yen to move sharply higher if BOJ abandons ultra-loose monetary policy, strategist saysGiles Keating, director at Bitcoin Suisse, discusses market sentiment, the outlook for the Japanese yen ahead of the Bank of Japan’s policy meeting and the outlook for the banking sector.

☆ The Saudi crown prince wants to build a trillion-dollar utopia in the desert. His deals with China reveal a darker vision.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

It's part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's modernizing vision of the country. But behind the outlandish plan, developed by Saudi Arabia's powerful crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, is a much darker reality. Crown Prince Mohammed appears keen to replicate those projects on a grander scale. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman announces a zero-carbon city called "The Line" to be built at NEOM in northwestern Saudi Arabia, January 10, 2021. It appeared to be the beginning of a fruitful partnership for Crown Prince Mohammed.

☆ Western Australia assesses Cyclone Ilsa's 'path of destruction'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, April 15 (Reuters) - Emergency authorities in Western Australia were assessing damage on Saturday from a tropical cyclone that hit the state's northwest, sparing heavily populated areas but affecting several remote communities. Ilsa, downgraded to a severe weather system, made landfall in the sparsely populated Pilbara region of Western Australia early on Friday with an intensity rating of 5, the highest. Western Australia Department of Fire and Emergency Services Assistant Commissioner Rick Curtis said crews were surveying damage in the "very large area" hit by Ilsa. "It’s quite a remote part of Western Australia so getting support services to the area will take some time and effort." Australia's weather forecaster warned of possible severe weather on Saturday in parts of the neighbouring Northern Territory, including potential flooding in the outback town of Alice Springs, as the ex-cyclone tracked east.

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